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Decisions about whether to allow for extended hours under alcohol licensing law are for independent local Licensing Boards.

Unlike the Home Secretary under the England and Wales alcohol licensing regime, the Scottish Ministers do not have a power within the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 to grant a general extension of licensed hours.

The 2005 Act provides that the administration of the alcohol licensing regime is devolved to independent local Licensing Boards – in effect the 32 Scottish Local Authorities.

Licensing Boards can grant general extensions of licensed hours if they consider it appropriate to do so in connection with a special event of local or national significance. Whilst these are matters for Licensing Boards in their areas, the Scottish Government is supportive of Licensing Boards having these powers.

An example where an independent local Licensing Board has indicated it will use their powers is Scottish Borders Licensing Board. If Scotland reach the semi-finals of EURO 2024, local media reporting has indicated that the Licensing Board will give permission for opening beyond the normal terminal hour of 23:00.

Late booze licences will be agreed – if Scotland reach the Euro 2024 Semi-Final - Midlothian View

In the wake of the protest at Mr Sweeney’s office, the Parliament’s Security Office engaged with the ‘Operation Sandbed’ team within Police Scotland on behalf of the SPCB.  Protest activity can cause alarm and the Security Office shared Mr Sweeney’s concerns, and the experience of his staff, that this protest had been unsettling and upsetting for those involved.  

Taking into account the issues experienced by Mr Sweeney’s office, the Security Office will undertake further engagement with Police Scotland on behalf of the SPCB to discuss additional support and training that can be provided to local office staff, and Members, should protest occur at a local office.

As previously advised in answer to question S6W-26346 on 9 April 2024, the current phase of Clyde Metro is being led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, working alongside Glasgow City Council and with Transport Scotland providing support in a project assurance role.

SPT have recently appointed consultants to undertake some preliminary work, with procurement of a framework for multi-disciplinary consultancy services for later phases of the case for investment currently ongoing.

As such, Transport Scotland is not promoting a policy aimed at increasing population density in the vicinity of railway stations in Glasgow.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

ScotRail’s passenger assist service provides assistance to those who need help when travelling on the ScotRail network. Passengers who require assistance when travelling can turn up and use the help point to request assistance. For those who want peace of mind assistance cab be booked in advance with one hour’s notice, which compares favourably with the 2 hours required by other GB Train Operating Companies.

Currently ScotRail operates a half hourly service on the East Kilbride route, with additional services operating at peak times which gives four trains per hour. ScotRail keeps its services under continued review to ensure its services meet passengers requirements as much as possible.

As the Care Inspectorate is an independent non-departmental body, it operates at arm’s length from Government. Therefore, while Scottish Minsters can agree the strategic direction of public bodies, it is crucial that their independent role is respected.

I can confirm that the Care Inspectorate has no plans to add a question on the extent of fair working conditions and pay to the Quality Framework for care services. The Care Inspectorate does not have an overt role in considering the pay and conditions of staff working in the sector.

However, where the Care Inspectorate identifies that staffing negatively impacts on the standard of care and experience of people, it would report on this and require improvements to be made.

VAT is a reserved area and the powers to set the VAT Registration Threshold sit with the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has not modelled the impact on public revenue in Scotland of a reduction of the VAT Registration Threshold to £30,000.

We encourage the UK Government to engage with devolved administrations and stakeholders to ensure that changes which affect all parts of the UK are fully considered as part of the assessment of impacts.

The Scottish Government funds the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support local areas to improve their neurodevelopmental support and diagnosis for adults; this includes diagnosis for both autism and ADHD. Since we accepted the recommendations of the Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways report last year, we have provided £567k for implementation to the NAIT. Nine of the 14 NHS Health Boards in Scotland now have Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathway Strategic Groups and five have a current Local Action Plan. Progress in this area remains a priority.

NAIT also published guidance in April (2022) regarding the prescribing of ADHD medication to adults following a private sector diagnosis in Scotland which can be read here .

NAIT’s guidance was constructed in consultation with practising psychiatrists, the Royal Colleges of Psychiatry and General Practice, as well as individuals with ADHD.

This guidance helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of both NHS staff and non-NHS providers.

It is the responsibility of local Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to put in place services to meet local needs, including the needs of adults with ADHD. Alongside this, the Scottish Government is engaged in work nationally to improve access to ADHD diagnosis in Scotland.

The Scottish Government funds Scottish Autism’s Autism Advice Line which is staffed by advisors who are trained and experienced in working with autistic people and their families. The Advice Line is open Tuesday – Friday, 10am-4pm. There is also a live chat facility, which you can access via the chat bubble at the bottom right hand corner of Scottish Autism’s website .

We also provide £1m of funding to several organisations via our Adult Autism Support Fund (AASF). Formal diagnosis is not required to access support from the new fund, which is directed at adults who currently receive very little local funding. The service is delivered in partnership with national charities and autistic led organisations, with Inspiring Scotland appointed as fund managers.

There are many other organisations across Scotland that run initiatives that support adults awaiting assessments for autism and/or ADHD. These initiatives do not require formal diagnoses as a prerequisite for access.

There is no national collection of waiting times for adult diagnosis of ADHD. Such collection is conducted at the level of Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), and is not aggregated nationally.

However, the Scottish Government established the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT), in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and improve service in the redesigning of autism diagnostic services.

In May 2023, NAIT published a review of waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessment in Scotland for adults , conducted between October 2021 and May 2022. These assessments include those for autism and ADHD.

This review found that, while the median overall waiting time for a diagnosis in adults was 252 days, aligning with the recommended timeframe, under half (47%) of individual assessments met the 252-day time standard, indicating that some individuals experience longer waiting times.

The 2020 Programme for Government included work to consider a National Clinical Pathway for ADHD. That work has now been completed and the Feasibility Study was published in January 2021 by the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT).

Following on from the study, the Scottish Government provided funding of £650,000 for a 12-month pilot in four HSCP areas - Fife, Borders, Lanarkshire and Highland. The findings of the pilot were published in March 2023. We have accepted the full recommendations of the report and are now working with NAIT on implementation.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are in the process of finalising a comprehensive list of all Specialist Reporting Agencies, which will be made available within the next three months.